Effects of dynamic pitch manipulation methods on speech perception in noise by older listeners with hearing loss

Objective: Patients with moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss in 1 ear and normal hearing in the contralateral ear, known as unilateral hearing loss (UHL) or single-sided deafness (SSD), may experience improved quality of life with the use of a cochlear implant (CI) in the affected ear. Quality of life assessment before and after implantation may reveal changes to aspects of hearing beyond those explicitly evaluated with behavioral measures. Methods: The present report completed 2 experiments investigating quality of life outcomes in CI recipients with UHL. The first experiment assessed quality of life during the 1st year of device use with 3 questionnaires: the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ), the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB), and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. Twenty subjects were evaluated preoperatively and 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-activation. Quality of life results were compared over the study period using traditional scoring methods and the SSQ pragmatic subscales. Subscales specific to localization and speech perception in noise were compared to behavioral measures at the preoperative and 12-month intervals. The 2nd experiment evaluated quality of life preoperatively and at the 12-month interval for CI recipients with UHL and CI recipients with bilateral hearing loss, including conventional CI users and those listening with electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS). The 3 cohorts differed in CI candidacy criteria, including the amount of residual hearing in the contralateral ear. Results: For subjects with moderate-to-profound UHL, receipt of a CI significantly improved quality of life, with benefits noted as early as 1 month after initial activation. The UHL cohort reported less perceived difficulty at the pre- and postoperative intervals than the conventional CI and EAS cohorts, which may be due to the presence of the normal-hearing ear. Each group experienced a significant benefit in quality of life on the APHAB with CI use. Conclusions: Cochlear implantation in cases of substantial UHL may offer significant improvements in quality of life. Quality of life measures revealed a reduction in perceived tinnitus severity and subjective improvements in speech perception in noise, spatial hearing, and listening effort. While self-report of difficulties were lower for the UHL cohort than the conventional CI and EAS cohorts, subjects in all 3 groups reported an improvement in quality of life with CI use.

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Hearing loss and speech perception in noise difficulties in Fanconi anemia

The Laryngoscope ◽

10.1002/lary.26480 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 127 (10) ◽

pp. 2358-2361

Author(s):

Emmy Verheij ◽

Karin P. Q. Oomen ◽

Stephanie E. Smetsers ◽

Gijsbert A. van Zanten ◽

Lucienne Speleman

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Speech Perception ◽

Fanconi Anemia ◽

Speech Perception In Noise

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Genetic hearing impairment affects cochlear processing and, consequently, speech recognition in noise

10.1101/2020.01.03.19015826 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Cris Lanting ◽

Ad Snik ◽

Joop Leijendeckers ◽

Arjan Bosman ◽

Ronald Pennings

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Speech Recognition ◽

Speech Perception ◽

Animal Studies ◽

Genetic Defects ◽

Speech Perception In Noise ◽

Cochlear Processing ◽

Genetic Hearing Loss ◽

Patient Groups ◽

Speech Recognition In Noise

AbstractThe relation between speech recognition and hereditary hearing loss is not straightforward. Impaired cochlear processing of sound might be determined by underlying genetic defects. Data obtained in nine groups of patients with a specific type of genetic hearing loss were evaluated. For each group, the affected cochlear structure, or site-of-lesion, was determined based on previously published animal studies. Retrospectively obtained speech recognition scores in noise were related to several aspects of supra-threshold cochlear processing, as assessed by psychophysical measurements. The differences in speech perception in noise between these patient groups could be explained by these factors, and partially by the hypothesized affected structure of the cochlea, suggesting that speech recognition in noise was associated with genetics-related malfunctioning of the cochlea.

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Speech perception in noise in unilateral hearing loss

Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology ◽

10.1016/j.bjorl.2015.08.019 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 82 (4) ◽

pp. 427-432 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Maria Fernanda Capoani Garcia Mondelli ◽

Marina de Marchi dos Santos ◽

Maria Renata José

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Speech Perception ◽

Unilateral Hearing Loss ◽

Speech Perception In Noise

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Evaluation of The Speech Perception in Noise (Spin) Test

Otolaryngology ◽

10.1177/019459987908700215 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 87 (2) ◽

pp. 239-245 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Robert W. Hutcherson ◽

Donald D. Dirks ◽

Donald E. Morgan

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Speech Perception ◽

Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽

Clinical Utility ◽

Normal Hearing ◽

Sensorineural Hearing ◽

Speech Communication ◽

Speech Discrimination ◽

Speech Perception In Noise ◽

Presentation Level

Several investigations were performed with normal hearing subjects to determine the effects of presentation level and signal-to-babble ratio on the speech perception in noise (SPIN) test. The SPIN test contains sentences that simulate a range of contextual situations encountered in everyday speech communication. Findings from several representative patients with sensorineural hearing loss demonstrate the possible clinical utility of the test to measure the effects of context on speech discrimination.

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Extended high-frequency hearing enhances speech perception in noise

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1903315116 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 116 (47) ◽

pp. 23753-23759 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Lina Motlagh Zadeh ◽

Noah H. Silbert ◽

Katherine Sternasty ◽

De Wet Swanepoel ◽

Lisa L. Hunter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Speech Perception ◽

High Frequency ◽

Speech Intelligibility ◽

Cutoff Frequency ◽

Broadband Noise ◽

Self Report ◽

Speech Perception In Noise ◽

High Frequencies ◽

Speech In Noise

Young healthy adults can hear tones up to at least 20 kHz. However, clinical audiometry, by which hearing loss is diagnosed, is limited at high frequencies to 8 kHz. Evidence suggests there is salient information at extended high frequencies (EHFs; 8 to 20 kHz) that may influence speech intelligibility, but whether that information is used in challenging listening conditions remains unknown. Difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments is the most common concern people have about their hearing and usually the first sign of age-related hearing loss. Digits-in-noise (DIN), a widely used test of speech-in-noise perception, can be sensitized for detection of high-frequency hearing loss by low-pass filtering the broadband masking noise. Here, we used standard and EHF audiometry, self-report, and successively higher cutoff frequency filters (2 to 8 kHz) in a DIN test to investigate contributions of higher-frequency hearing to speech-in-noise perception. Three surprising results were found. First, 74 of 116 “normally hearing,” mostly younger adults had some hearing loss at frequencies above 8 kHz. Early EHF hearing loss may thus be an easily measured, preventive warning to protect hearing. Second, EHF hearing loss correlated with self-reported difficulty hearing in noise. Finally, even with the broadest filtered noise (≤8 kHz), DIN hearing thresholds were significantly better (P < 0.0001) than those using broadband noise. Sound energy above 8 kHz thus contributes to speech perception in noise. People with “normal hearing” frequently report difficulty hearing in challenging environments. Our results suggest that one contribution to this difficulty is EHF hearing loss.

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